The Love Song of J. Alfred Wildcat

English Department Day of Service

This past Saturday, faculty and grad students from the department traveled to The Academy @ Palumbo in South Philly for the St. Thomas of Villanova Day of Service. The group spent the day doing various improvement projects across the school, including painting columns in the cafeteria and guidance counselor offices.

Dr. Yumi "Paint Tape Pro" Lee in action.

Coming Soon

Poet Dean Rader Reading: Oct. 19

Poet Dean Rader will be reading from Self-Portrait as a Wikipedia Entry (Copper Canyon, 2017) on Thursday, October 19th, at 3:00 in SAC 300.

Dean Rader’s debut collection of poems, Works & Days, won the 2010 T. S. Eliot Poetry Prize, and Landscape Portrait Figure Form (2014) was named by The Barnes & Noble Review as a Best Poetry Book of the year. He has won numerous awards for his writing, including the 2016 Common Good Books Prize, judged by Garrison Keillor, and the 2015 George Bogin Award from the Poetry Society of America, judged by Stephen Burt. His most recent scholarly book is Engaged Resistance: American Indian Art, Literature, and Film from Alcatraz to the NMAI (2011). Rader teaches at the University of San Francisco, in the Department of English, where he has also served as Department Chair. He writes and reviews regularly for The San Francisco Chronicle, Kenyon Review, Ploughshares, and The Huffington Post. Two new collections of poetry appeared in 2017: A book of collaborative sonnets, written with Simone Muench, entitled Suture (Black Lawrence Press) and Self-Portrait as Wikipedia Entry, about which Publisher’s Weekly writes, “few poets capture the contradictions of our national life with as much sensitivity or keenness.”

Read Rader's new poem "History" at Kenyon Review Online.

Coming Soon: New English Department T-Shirt

Here's the design for our new t-shirt!

Award-Winning Journalist Raquel Rutledge Talk

Game of Thrones Panel Discussion

Standing-room only at the English department's Game of Thrones panel discussion--starring (l. to r.) professors Travis Foster, Brooke Hunter and Joe Drury

Professors Travis Foster and Brooke Hunter

Professors Joe Drury and Brooke Hunter

Advisory Committee 2017-18

Olivia Sigmund, Elias Papakostas, Blaire Bernstein, Kyra Kruger, Alex Forgione, Meg Carter, Reagan Wish

Caleigh Manyak, Caroline Seymour, Caroline Rini

Blaire Bernstein (bbernste@villanova.edu)
I am a senior English and Humanities double major with a minor in Irish Studies.  Within English, I am most interested in poetry and Irish literature.  I first became interested in Irish literature during my semester abroad at the National University in Galway.  My goal for this semester is to begin developing and crafting my senior thesis through the Honors program.

Meg Carter (mcarter8@villanova.edu)
I am a junior English major with a second major in Spanish.  My literary interests are in theatre and poetry.  Last summer I studied abroad in Dublin and learned about Irish theatre and performed on the Peacock Stage at the Abbey Theatre!  On campus I am involved with Villanova Student Musical Theatre and I write for Villanova television.

Elizabeth Eby (eeby2@villanova.edu)
I am a senior English major and Business minor.  Last spring, I studied abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark.  In one of my English classes, we read Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment and then took a week-long study tour to St. Petersburg, Russia, which was an incredible experience.  I have spent two summers interning as a Teaching Fellow with Breakthrough Collaborative, and I conducted education-related research through the VURF program this summer.  These experiences have inspired me to pursue a career in education after graduation.

Alex Forgione (aforgion@villanova.edu)
I am a junior English major and Philosophy minor and am from Long Island.  I am a student advisor for the English department as well as a member of the exec board for Villanova's Poetry Society.  I've traveled abroad twice, once my freshman year with the Literary London program and the second time during the summer of 2017 in Prague.  After I graduate I plan to go to law school in Manhattan.  I love the English department, and I'm looking forward to a great junior year!

Dyala Kasim (dkasim@villanova.edu)
I am a senior English and Communication major with a concentration in Writing and Rhetoric. Last summer I interned in New York City doing editorial and social media work for the company Ideasmyth.  During those forty-minute (and sometimes even longer) train commutes, I would read everything from Emily Dickinson's poetry to my new favorite book, Donna Tartt's The Secret History.  This year, I am both excited and a little bit sad to be taking my final English classes at Villanova.  But I know that every book I've read and lesson I've learned will not only help me in my future career, but going forth in life as well. And after four years, I finally have an English Department t-shirt!

Kyra Kruger (kkruger1@villanova.edu)
I am a senior English major with a second major in French and Francophone Studies.  I have a specific interest in experiemental fiction (Joyce, Woolf, etc.) and American minimalism.  I studied abroad in Lille, France, last semester, and over the summer I worked in academic and higher ed publishing at Cengage Learning.

Ang Malenda (amalenda@villanova.edu)
I am a junior English major with a minor in Communications and Public Administration.  As I wrap up my time at Villanova, I am looking into graduate programs in Public Relations.  This past summer I had an internship at a non-profit organization that inspired me to follow a career in PR. When I'm not working, I can normally be found hanging out with my friends, watching Netflix, traveling (I studied abroad in London my freshman year!) or going on a hike with my dog.  I can't wait to meet all the future English majors!

Caleigh Manyak (cmanyak@villanova.edu)
I am a sophomore English and Global Interdisciplinary Studies major with a minor in Arabic and Islamic Language and Cultural Studies.  On campus I’m involved with Villanova College Democrats, Villanova Poetry Society and Villanova Voices, but I hope to join a few more clubs this upcoming semester.  This past year I published an article in my hometown’s Herald about my college experience.  I’d love to spend a semester abroad in Europe.

Elias Papakostas (epapakos@villanova.edu)
I am a junior English major from Bedford, New Hampshire.  I love reading both in and out of class—for the Villanova Book Club and on my own time.  I’m also an aspiring screenwriter and have used my English background to intern at Mandeville Films in Los Angeles.  I’m also on the Quidditch team, the Villanova newspaper and the baking club.

Caroline Rini (crini@villanova.edu)
I am a junior English and Criminology double major with plans to declare a minor in Creative Writing.  At Villanova I am part of Mock Trial, the Poetry Society and Pi Beta Phi.  This past summer I participated in a study abroad program at NUI Galway in Ireland where I took a literature course and a creative writing course.  My favorite writers include Emily Dickinson, Kazuo Ishiguro, William Shakespeare, and, of course, J. K. Rowling.

Caroline Seymour (cseymou2@villanova.edu)
I am a senior English major with a minor in Psychology.  My sophomore year I interned with Pointe magazine in New York City under the direction of the editor-in-chief.  I hope to pursue publishing after graduation.  Last summer, I studied English and Political Science in Prague and have since become a fan of Milan Kundera.  Outside of class, I can either be found in St. Mary's dancing with Nova on Pointe or at a basketball game!

Olivia Sigmund (osigmund@villanova.edu)
I am a junior English and Spanish double major with a minor in Education Policy and Leadership.  I hope to pursue a career in teaching English language learners and eventually earn my PhD in order to do educational research and possible work with local, state and federal policy makers.  Here at Villanova I am in the band, VU Pride and Inter-Hall Council.

Reagan Wish (rwish@villanova.edu)
I am a sophomore English and Honors double major.  I hope to pursue a career in law after graduation.  Despite not yet studying abroad, I love to travel and experience other parts of the world.  English has always been a love of mind.  While I tend to gravitate towards British poetry, I am a voracious reader and I love to engage in any sort of literary discussion!

9/10 Open House for Prospective Students

Seniors Elizabeth Eby and Dyala Kasim with prospective Villanova English majors.  Profs. Michael Berthold and Heather Hicks were the faculty representatives.

Game of Thrones Panel

First Fall Coffee Break

Ireland: A History in Song